Ornament mounting structure



Oct.20,1936. .GfsMERK 2,058,168

ORNAMENT MOUNT ING STRUCTURE Filed Feb. 20, 11934 Invenibr." 1 Gear dTMrh'.

Patented Oct. 20, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ORNAMENT MOUNTING STRUCTURE Application February 20, 1934, Serial No. 712,198

4 Claims.

My invention aims to provide improvements in detachable ornament-supporting structures for bag frames and the like.

In the drawing which illustrates preferred embodiments of my invention:-

Figure 1 is a front view of the upper part of a handbag frame structure and attached ornamerits;

Fig. 2 is an end view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front view partly in section of the frame shown in Fig. 1 showing the manner of attachment of an ornament;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 shows a modified form of a device for detachably securing the ornament to a channel member, and. shows part of an ornament and. part of the supporting structure; and

Fig. 6 is a plan section of the channel member and integral ornament-holding element taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

My invention is particularly, though not exclusively, adapted for use with ladies handbag frames and aims to provide means to detachably secure an ornamental device to a bag frame channel.

Referring to the preferred embodiment of my invention, I have shown (Figs. 1 through 4) ornamental devices (in this case, for illustrative purposes, the letters B and M) supported by a channel member 2 carried by channelled bag frame members 3-3. My invention relates particularly to the detachable yieldablerspring member 4 and its combination with the ornaments and the channel member 2 to prevent accidental relative longitudinal movement of the ornament with respect to the channel member. The spring member 4 is yieldable and permits the ornament to be removed fro-m the channel support during intentional disengagement when sufiicient force is applied to the ornament.

The channel member 2 is provided with a bottom wall 5 and spaced walls 6-6 extending upwardly and inwardly, and the inwardly extending portions l--'l provide means to support the ornamental device I, as described hereinafter. The channel member 2 is held to the bag frame member 3 by a half oval shaped clip 8, shown in Fig. 2, which may slide back and forth over the member 9, thus providing means to open and close the handbag members. A plate i0 is secured to the inner wall of a bag frame 3 and as the clip 8 carrying the channel member 2 and the ornament I is moved beyond the limits of the plate I0 the handbag frames may be separated at the top and vice versa to close. The

- The ornaments l l are provided with longitudinal grooves I ||l at both sides which are arranged and adapted to 'fit the portions 'l] of the channel member 2, as mentioned heretofore, so that the channel 2 is substantially filled by the base of the ornament, providing a neat appearance at the end, as shown in Fig. 2.

As illustrated in Fig. 3, in order to provide means whereby the ornamental devices l--l may be detachably secured within the channel support 2, I have provided a yieldable arched spring member l2 adapted to fit and be held under tension within the recessed under-cut l3 in the ornament I. The spring member has a projection or detent element M which fits into an aperture l5 in the channel support 2.

To assemble the ornament and spring member within the channel support, as shown in Fig. 3, an ornament having the proper grooves and under-cut heretofore described is fitted with a detachable spring member I 2. The spring is inserted into the under-cut I3 and is thereafter partially frictionally held and partially held by spring tension therein. brought up to the channel and when proper alignment of the grooves ll-H and portions 'll is obtained the ornament is moved along the channel until it abuts the stop member [6 located in the channel 2 in such a position that The ornament is then at-the instant the ornament abuts the aforesaid detent carried by the yieldable spring member is pressing against the bottom wall 5 of the channel 2 during the course of the ornament along the channel so that when the detent l4 drops into the aperture l5 only a part of the pressure is released, the spring member remaining under suiiicient tension to hold the ornament in position and prevent accidental displacement.

To remove the ornament it is only necessary to apply sufficient force to overcome the tension of the spring member holding the detent M within the aperture 15, as described heretofore, and when this is done the detent rides up over the side of the aperture and is carried along by the ornament I while the ornament is being completely disengaged from the channel.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I have shown an additional embodiment of a means to detachably secure an ornament within a channelled member. The ornament is provided with the same grooves H II as before but the under cut I1 is smaller and is not necessarily the whole width of the ornament as the under-cut l3 and may be only of suflicient size to fit the detent I8 provided by a yieldable tongue l9 cut out of the base of the channel 2, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. If desirable, a whole series of under-cuts I! may be provided for adjustment purposes, as will be understood by those skilled in the art.

The ornament may be positioned and removed in the same manner as described heretofore, except in this instance the spring member is provided by an integral portion of the channeled member and only the ornament is moved in relation to the channel, the spring member being fixed at one end but yieldable at the other to allow for intentional movement of the ornament but to prevent accidental movement thereof.

By my invention I have provided a cheaply manufactured and positive acting spring member for the purpose of detachably securing an ornamental device within a channeled member. The practical value of the embodiments of my invention lies in the fact that one may choose any type of ornament and be able to secure it on a bag frame member as described and when it is desirable to change the ornament for another type it may be readily removed and a new one substituted. Heretofore, an ornament once assembled was a more or less permanent fixture, but by my invention I have provided means whereby the owner of a handbag of the type described may use ornaments of their own choosing and suited to their own tastes and, what is more, may change them at will.

Another feature of my invention is the fact that the detachable ornament-supporting device or spring member described and illustrated herein is entirely concealed, being hidden by the ornament and the channel member. This fact permits any type of ornament to be used without detracting from its appearance.

While I have illustrated and described preferred embodiments of my invention, I do not wish to be limited thereby, because their scope is best defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. An ornament mounting structure comprising, in combination, a support member, an ornament member and a spring member, said spring member having a detent means directly engaging a portion of said support member to prevent accidental relative longitudinal movement of the parts, said ornament member having a recess therein, said spring member being so mounted in said recess as to be self-yielding for engagement and disengagement of the detent means when sufiicient force is applied to the ornament during intentional engagement with and disengagement from the support member.

2. An ornament mounting structure comprising, in combination, a channeled support, an ornament, and a spring member carried by said ornament, said ornament having a recessed portion adapted to hold said spring member and said spring member having a detent element directly engaging a portion of said channelled support to prevent accidental relative movement of the parts, said spring member being so mounted in said recessed portion as to be self-retained therein but self-yielding for engagement and disengagement of the detent element when sufiicient force is applied to the ornament during intentional engagement with and disengagement from the channelled support.

3. An ornament mounting structure comprising, in combination, a channeled support, an ornament, and a spring member carried by saidornament, said ornament having a recessed portion adapted to hold said spring member, said spring member comprising a strip of spring metal having a detent element adapted directly to engage a portion of said channel to prevent accidental relative movement of the parts, said strip of spring metal being so mounted in said recess to be self-yielding for engagement and disengagement of the detent element when suflicient force is applied to the ornament during intentional engagement with and disengagement from the channelled support.

4. An ornament mounting structure of the class described comprising, in combination, a support having spaced walls extending upwardly and inwardly, an ornament having longitudinal grooves at the sides to correspond with said inwardly extending walls of said support, said walls adapted to fit into said grooves and support said ornament, and a spring member adapted to locate said ornament on said support, said ornament having a recessed portion adapted to hold said spring member, said spring member comprising a strip of spring metal and having a detent element adapted to directly engage a portion of said support to prevent accidental relative longitudinal movement of the ornament and of the support, said spring member being so mounted in said recess as to be retained by said ornament but be self-yielding for engagement and disengagement of the support when sufficient force is applied to the ornament during intentional engagement with and disengagement from the support.

GEORGE S. MERK. 

